Frost
by Fallen Ark Angel
Summary: Losing someone close to you can be devastating to anyone. When it's your own child, it can make you go crazy. But Fang's not crazy. He's not. At least that's what he keeps saying. There're more important things to worry about anyways, they keep telling him. The past is the past. It's time to move on. How can you move on, though, when a part of you is buried under the ground?
1. Chapter 1

Frost

Chapter 1

The ice was cold under his sock clad feet. Freezing really. Still, he kept walking, undeterred by the frosty air. He'd suffered worse. Much worse. The only time he had second thoughts about what he was doing was when he thought about what the others would think. They'd think he was crazy, they'd say he was obsessive, they'd think that he was paranoid. And they'd be right. But sometimes, paranoia is good.

The branches of the bare trees looked eerie and odd swaying in the wind as it picked up slightly. He didn't have a jacket on, only a t-shirt and jeans. He didn't even have shoes. That though was because he couldn't find them anywhere. The others probably hid them from him, thinking that would keep him from going out. He had to though. He had to protect the house.

Once he got to the wrought iron gates, the man pulled the keys out of his pocket before slowly unlocking it. He could fly over it, sure, but his wings felt nice and snug against his back. He didn't mind the cold, not really, but he didn't enjoy it either.

"And you thought you would just leave then? That I wouldn't notice?"

He froze for a moment, out there in the cold, before turning. He didn't have to see her to know who it was, but still, he had to respect her somewhat.

"It's not safe," he told her simply, not shocked to find that she was all bundled up in a jacket and a little beanie cap. That wasn't enough to protect her from the cold, of course, but it was a start.

"And it'll be safer with you out in the woods? What can you do, Fang?"

"I have to protect us, Max!"

She huffed, no doubt planning to blow her currently brown hair out of her face. There was no need for that, however, as the wind had blown it back, away from her face. Fang took a moment to…take inventory of the woman before him, slightly disappointed to find her jacket hid her boobs from the world. Well, from him.

"Come get back in bed. Now."

"Max-"

"Fang, you can't bring him back. You know that. He's gone."

He blinked, his eyes starting to also feel cold. Was there a way to protect your eyes from the cold? Goggles, maybe. He would have to remember that next time he went into town. That wouldn't be for awhile though, as the town at the base of the mountain they lived on was pretty shut down at the moment. Most everywhere was. They weren't in the middle of a blizzard, not this winter, but most of the roads were closed. The bird people that lived on top of the mountain could come and go as they pleased, but the rest of the people had lost their mode of transportation.

"So lock the gate and come back inside."

"Max-"

"Don't make me get one of the guys."

"Once you got them, I would be gone."

"Then I won't go anywhere."

He was breaking slightly. "Max, it's cold."

"You're out here in your jeans and a shirt, Fang!"

"I'm me. You're you." He coughed then, looking off. "You're pregnant."

She let out a long breath. "Yeah. I know."

"So…just go back inside. Okay?"

"Not without you."

"Max-"

"You can't protect us from what isn't there." Max gestured to the forest that surrounded their manor. "What killed him, what you're afraid of, it's gone. It's all gone now. We're safe."

"Max-"

"Even if you don't believe we'll always be safe, you have to at least believe that there's no way anything could get here. Not on foot or by car or anything. Everything's frozen for miles around. We're safe. For now." She took a step closer. "Come back to bed. I need you. It's…cold."

Again, he coughed, looking off. His feet were starting to go numb. "Well then. We'll go."

She waited for him, watching as he locked the gate back and slowly turned back around to face her. When he was close enough, the man pressed a hand to her stomach, gently pressing into it. It was a small gesture, but it got the point across and Max turned, allowing him to lead her back into the house before up to their bedroom and to their bed.

* * *

"The power's out."

Fang kept writing things down in the journal, not turning around.

"Can we use the generator?"

Still, he kept writing.

"Fang?"

He continued to ignore the questions, but that was okay. It was then that Max walked into the room and spoke for him.

"No, Nudge, we can't."

"But, Max-"

"If we use it now, we could run out of gasoline when we would really need it."

"But-"

"I said no. That's final."

"I'm cold."

"Then go out for a jog."

"Max."

Fang still just sat at the desk in the corner of the room, writing in his journal. It was nine a.m. He always wrote in his journal from nine a.m. to ten a.m.

"Here you go."

Max sat a plate of peanut butter bread on the desk next to him. He didn't even look up, only nodding slightly to acknowledge her.

"There's nothing to eat," Nudge called from the kitchen now. "Max-"

"Shut up. God. Everyone's asleep, alright?" Max still just stood behind Fang, not really focusing on the other woman as she watched Fang write. To him, she said, "She's right though. The power's out."

"Storm."

"I know why it's out, Fang. I just wanted to make sure you knew it was."

He was sure Max would have kept talking to him had Nudge not suddenly came back into the room and began to go around it, blowing out the candles. It was so cloudy and dark outside that they needed those. Well, Fang did. Of course, they had their night vision, but recently, Fang had been dismayed to find that his eyesight was starting to leave him.

"Nudge," Max hissed. "What are you doing?"

"Conserving candles. You know, Max, in case we need them later."

"You little-"

Fang stood then, angry that they were interrupting his writing. Leaving the room, he went through the kitchen and out into the garage. He was only out there for a minute before returning. Max and Nudge were still arguing, now about which one had upset him. When he came back into the room though, Fang just flipped a light switch and sat back down at the desk.

"How did you do that?" Nudge frowned. "The power's out."

Fang cleared his throat. "You guys just popped a breaker. Probably have too much stuff plugged in."

"If you knew that why did you-"

"Don't question him," Max ordered, frowning at the other woman. "Your power's back on now, so go away. Alright?"

"Whatever, Max."

Nudge left after that, headed back up the stairs. Then it was just Fang and Max up, alone, in the mostly dark house. Sighing, Max went and turned the light off before going around and relighting the candles.

"I know that you don't like how bright it is in here with the light on," she explained to him as Fang just got back to work. Little was usually said between the two of them these days. Since…

Promptly at ten, Fang finished what he was doing and set off to do a grounds check. He had to track down Max, who was by then rousing the others, and have her show him where she had hidden his shoes. Only after promising that he would be back in time for lunch, she allowed him to leave the house without supervision.

They all thought that he wanted to hurt himself for some reason. One time. One time you do something and they label you a self-abuser. He wasn't. He just missed his son.

Fang heard something behind him as he unlocked the wrought iron gate. It was a massive gate, though that didn't mean much. It was a massive house. To them at least. The ones that had spent their lives in cages, being tortured by people the age they were now. Turning, Fang was glad to find it was only Roy coming out of the house, dressed in boots and his heavy coat.

Roy was an outsider to the Flock, of course. He was Nudge's then boyfriend, now husband. Fang had been adverse to him moving into the house at first, but as Max had told him, they were all getting older. Eventually, they would all grow up and all bring in spouses. Still, Fang was wary of him and even now didn't like the other male much, but had grown accustom to him. At the very least, it was better than when Nudge would leave the house at all hours to go on dates and things. That disgusted him nearly as much as it did to know that Roy and Nudge were having sex just down the hall from him. God.

"Going out there, Fang? Out into the woods?" Roy called out to him. "Do you need help?"

"Ay," Fang called over his shoulder. "It would be more help if you cut the wood, out behind the house."

"I should get Dylan to help with that, yes?"

Fang shook his head, though that contradicted his words. "If you can find him."

With that, Fang headed out of the gate and into the forest.

They owned it all. Every bit of it. It happened after the world 'ended', back when the earth attempted to kill itself. Most of the Americas were wiped out, North and South. Europe was hurt too, but mostly it was built up by now. Asia was never really touched and was now the most thriving part of the world, while Africa had suffered about the same as Europe and was back to what it was before.

"Just here," Fang mumbled to himself as he walked through the forest.

Everyone that could fled what was once the New World and got as far away from it as they could. Fang personally had never been to South America, but as far as he knew, it was as desolate as North America. Max had gone once, back when they had that little island. That was years ago though. Who knew what it was now?

Fang didn't like to think much of what the world once was. It was easier not to. He was sure, on the other half of the earth, things still thrived much as they used to, but everyone left this side of the world alone. Like it was cursed. And wasn't it? The fires, the flood, all of it killing millions of people all at once, all without knowing. If anywhere was haunted, how can it not be this half of the hemisphere?

Not to mention, Fang liked being alone. Sure, down at the bottom of the sleepy mountain were people who had built a little town. It wasn't much. Just a few people. They rarely saw visitors. Even the Flock, who only went down there when they were in need of something, knew mostly everyone in the town. Everyone knew everyone. Who would want it any other way?

Now, as he walked through the forest, Fang had to duck a low hanging branch, the bare branches scratching his face as he did so. Still, he didn't mind, not caring at all for those little wounds, if they'd even show up. Max might chide him when he got back, but that was fine. At least she cared, right?

He made his way through the woods, followed his usual path, now headed towards the back of their property. When he got there, he found the little lake they had back there, smiling slightly as he saw it. It was frozen over now of course, as it always was in November. Still, Fang liked to see it, liked to be around it. It reminded it of so much. So much…

* * *

"_Where do the ducks go, Daddy?"_

"_Hmmm?"_

"_The ducks," the little boy said, pointing at the creatures out on the pound, shaking their feathers and quaking at one another. "Where do they go?"_

"_Go? Like where do they live?"_

"_No," he giggled. "They live here. I know that."_

"_Of course you do," Fang mumbled, shifting on his feet. _

_He really needed to get back to the house. Max wanted to go down the mountain later, to get supplies. He had told her he would go along, but he had to take Jamie out first, on their afternoon walk. It was the only way the five year old would take his nap these days. He was starting to get too old for them, but everyone in the house liked him better asleep. Everyone._

"_Where do they go though?"_

"_When, Jamie? Huh?"_

"_When it gets cold and the lake freezes." Jamie shook his long hair out of his eyes, giggling slightly as he ran in circles around his father. "Where do the duckies go?"_

"_Well," Fang began. He didn't know where to go after that though. "I guess…I don't know, buddy."_

_Jamie giggled again. "That's okay, Daddy."_

"_You must be real smart, buddy," Fang told him. "To think of that. I'd never think of something like that."_

"_I like ducks."_

"_I know you do."_

"_I like watching 'em. And I like the lake." Jamie stopped his circles, coming to stand next to his father now and watch the water. "I like when it's hot better than when it's cold."_

"_You like spring more than winter."_

"_Yes! Then I get to watch the duckies and I get to swim and I get to play in the water." The overly active boy stopped speaking for a moment, clearly thinking. "Daddy?"_

"_Hmmm?"_

"_How come I can't swim today?"_

"'_cause your mom said you couldn't."_

"_I don't like Mom as much as you," Jamie said, turning then and running off, towards the forest. _

"_Yeah, I don't like her as much as me either."_

_Giggling, Jamie picked his way under branches and over fallen logs. "Catch me, Daddy. Bet you can't!"_

"_Yeah," Fang sighed as he headed after his son at a much slower pace. "I bet I can't either."_

* * *

Fang woke with a start, shooting straight up in bed. This disturbed Max, of course, who just rolled over, facing the wall now. His breathing was heavy as he felt around the bed, looking, always looking. He would never find what he was looking for though, never again. Max didn't say anything though, allowing him to do so, allowing him to not find their son, but his own reality.

"What time is?"

Max mumbled back in reply something about it being close to midnight.

"What?"

Groaning, she turned back to look at him. For a second, Fang felt stupid as he saw her stomach and realized he'd never find their son. Not unless he dug underground.

"You came back from looking around the grounds and passed out."

"What?"

"You took a nap. I didn't want to wake you."

"Max," Fang hissed, staring down at her. "Now my timing's all off. I have to-"

"You have to lay down." She shut her eyes again. "Don't you dare leave this house."

"I have-"

"Roy and Iggy took care of everything that you usually do. The wood, dinner, the kids. Everything's fine."

But everything wasn't fine.

Still, Fang laid back down, wanting to please his wife. Well, until she fell back asleep at least. Then he'd go and-

"You're not leaving this room tonight," Max told him as she laid a hand on his chest. Fang hated sleeping on his back, but he had no other choice now as Max settled herself against him. "You hear me? There's nothing out there."

"Max, I-"

"Fang, it hurts my stomach to think about you out there, in the cold, doing nothing, but freezing to death."

Max wasn't showing yet, but it every time Fang saw her stomach or thought about it, he was reminded that Jamie was gone. By the same token, there was a new baby he had to worry about. He couldn't fix what had happened to their son, not now, not ever. He could though protect the new baby. Why didn't Max get that?

"I have-"

"You have me."

He cleared his throat. "I've always had you."

"Then you know that I don't sleep if you don't sleep." She sat up suddenly, knowing Fang's eyes were on her. Max lifted up her shirt slightly before reaching out and grasping his hand. "You feel that?"

She had pressed his hand against her stomach. "Warm."

"Yeah. Would you rather I be cold? For _us_ to be cold? Without you?"

He spread his fingers out, shaking his head slightly. "I don't…"

Max thought he meant that he didn't want her to be cold, for their new baby to be cold. However, Fang really meant something that he had only kept to himself so far. He didn't want a new baby. He didn't want another son. He wanted his son back. He wanted Jamie back. He didn't care if this new baby was cold or hot or even alive. He didn't want it. At all.

"Good," Max whispered then, content in her own mind as she laid back down. "Now go to sleep."

Fang couldn't though. He just laid there, staring at the ceiling until it was morning, real morning. Then, promptly at seven, Fang got up, leaving Max curled up in bed, cold and alone. No, not alone. She had the baby. _Her baby_. Their baby, his baby, was dead.

And he wouldn't be coming back.

* * *

"Uncle Fang?"

"Hmmm?"

"Calvin broke my car."

Fang blinked as suddenly, on his desk, a little toy car was sat over his journal. "Oh."

"Yeah. Fix it."

Again, he blinked. "Oh. Okay."

"Here."

Then there was a little wheel up there too.

"Calvin broke it. He pulled the wheel off. I hate him."

"Oh." Fang shook his head as he very easily snapped the wheel back onto the little car. Then, glancing down and to the right, he found a little girl standing there. Cassie. She was five now and thought that she was a big girl. She was. She was the oldest child in the house. Now.

"Here you go," he said, handing off the car to the little girl. It had been Jamie's car, once. Not anymore. Even before he died, he had given it to her. The women in the house, Max and Nudge mostly, always joked about how Jamie and Cassie would end up together. Of course, they probably would have been right, given the fact there really were no other options for the two kids, but now… Fang shook his head, as Cassie giggled, mimicking him.

"How come you didn't eat dinner last night, Uncle Fang?"

He shrugged some as Nudge's daughter got back on her knees and began pushing the car around on the hardwood floor. "I slept."

"That's what Mommy said. I didn't think it was very nice though, to eat without you." With that, she pushed her car out of the room, leaving him alone. Fang blinked again before turning back around and getting back to writing in his journal.

* * *

"Ew."

"Shut up, Calvin."

Fang sighed as he skinned the rabbit. Cassie smiled at him, watching as his hands got covered with more and more of that rabbits blood. She wasn't like her baby brother. She and Jamie had always liked watching Fang prepare meat for dinner. Now she had to watch alone.

"Nasty," Calvin said now, shaking his head. "Nasty."

"Shut up!"

Now being yelled at by his sister, Calvin began to cry. That was not Fang's job.

"Hey now," he heard along with the snow crunching under someone's feet. "What's with all the tears?"

"I didn't do it," Cassie exclaimed as Dylan came into the shed. Calvin immediately ran to the other man, knowing he would not get comfort from his evil older sister or very cold and calculating uncle. "I didn't."

"What happened?" Dylan asked, this now directed at the other adult in the shed. Fang still just sat there, continuing to skin the rabbits. Angel was making soup for dinner. She needed meat. "Fang?"

"Just get him out of here," Fang grumbled as he continued to prepare the meat. "Take him to Roy. Let his father deal with him."

Dylan followed Fang's orders, as he always did these days. Their rivalry was long dead. Most things these days were long dead.

"I don't like Calvin," Cassie told Fang as she climbed up into one of the chairs at the table. He glanced at her, smiling slightly as her long hair fell in her eyes. He liked Cassie. He had always liked her.

'Yeah," he whispered, going back to slicing.

"Can I help?"

"No."

"Hmph." She crossed her arms, staring hard at him now. When Fang looked back at her though, she broke into giggles.

Cassie looked like neither of her parents. She was mixed, her skin a tan color, her hair dark and long. Her eyes were dark too, the pupils such a dark brown they almost looked black.

Fang remembered once when she was first born, when Jamie was two, him telling Nudge that she was ugly, that she didn't look right. Nudge had gotten mad about that, but the real reason he thought that was easily explainable. It confused him how she came out looking the way she had. Nudge was black, he knew that. Roy was white, Jamie also knew that. When he mixed his white crayon and black crayon together, he did not get brown or tan. Something was fishy about that, to him.

"Uncle Fang?"

"Hmmm?"

"Mommy told me that you and Aunt Max are gonna have another baby."

"Mmmhmm."

"I don't think I'll like it."

"Yeah," Fang sighed, shaking his head. "I don't think I will either."

"I wish Jamie would come back."

She whispered that part, not sure if she was allowed to say that. When Jamie first went away, her mommy and her daddy told her she wasn't allowed to talk about him anymore, especially not to Uncle Fang or Aunt Max. It wasn't fair though. Jamie was her best friend and now he was gone. Why did they expect her to never mention him again?

"I do too," Fang told her in full honesty.

"Then we could play again."

"Yeah."

"…You think he misses me?"

"Mmmhmm."

"I miss him."

"Me too."

"…You think that maybe the new baby will be him?"

"No," Fang told her, shaking his head. "It won't."

"Oh." She looked back at the dead rabbits sitting on the table. "You don't think he'll ever come back neither, do you?"

"Nope."

"That's too bad."

"Yeah," the boy's father sighed. "It is."

Suddenly, Cassie jumped up, heading out of the shed. "I'mma go play with my toys."

"Okay."

"…Uncle Fang?" She has stopped at the door of the shed though, looking back at him.

"Hmmmm?"

"Maybe he will come back though. Maybe."

He wanted to tell her that he wouldn't, that he couldn't, that he was dead. D-E-A-D. When someone's dead, he wanted to say, they don't come back. They're just that. Dead. She would have to grow up eventually and accept it.

Instead, Fang just ducked his head, staring down at the table for a moment. The rabbits were dead. That was a good thing. Death was good. Sometimes. And sometimes it was bad. Maybe he could explain it to her that way. Maybe. That would make sense to a little girl, right? He didn't know. He had never raised one. Not really. Angel hadn't been his, she never had been. Jamie had been his. And look where that got them all.

"Maybe," Fang whispered to her. "Maybe."

Now, hope restored, Cassie headed out of the shed, allowing the door to bang shut behind her.

And once again, Fang was alone.

* * *

…**Yeah, you guys should have known I wasn't going anywhere. You guys like this one? I'm not sure where I'm going with it, but I usually do better with finishing those kinds of stories. **


	2. Chapter 2

Frost

Chapter 2

Their house was their house for one reason. It was no one else's. When they left the island, it had been in a rush. Over the years, many had left them, Max's little group disbanded. Max wanted to go somewhere new, she wanted to find somewhere for them. Back to the U.S. she said, just the Flock. Like it was always meant to be.

The house was nice. Empty. Untouched by the storms that had destroyed much of the Americas. At the time, none of them had had kids, they were all still young, and they were all so excited to have a place of their own. Maybe even more excited than they had been when they first learned the island belong to them.

Of course, they weren't alone. Dr. Martinez, who for obvious reasons couldn't fly, had taken longer to arrive at the house. She was accompanied by Jeb, who claimed that he had nowhere else to go. Fang hadn't wanted to let him stay, but what choice did he have?

And of course Ella came with her mother. Bleh. Fang had never really disliked Ella, but he never really cared for her either. She was in the way, really, as was her mother. Max had claimed it was going to be the Flock's house, yet here she was, bringing in her father, mother, and sister. They weren't part of the Flock.

Max, of course, had overridden him, like always. He might be the man of their relationship, but as she always reminded him, she was still the Flock leader. He had to accept that. All the time. She never let him forget it. Ever.

"You stink."

Even now. Fang blinked, staring at his wife. Wife. That had been taken care of not soon after they claimed the house as their own. Of course, the U.S. was no more, so at first, he just stared calling her that, telling her that it didn't matter. Records didn't matter. She was his wife now. She pretty much had always been his wife. Still, she wanted it to be real. Max liked everything to be real. She wasn't like a normal girl, even growing up. Imagination was fine…for the others. Max only dealt in reality.

He took her to France. They didn't have very good memories of France, but it was one of the places that had stayed most together after everything had happened. They could get records there, they could say vows there. So they did. There. In that other country. They only took Nudge and Angel with them. The boys didn't want to go, Iggy and the Gasman because they thought it was stupid, and Dylan because, well, duh.

"I mean God, it's freezing outside. How do you still manage to sweat?"

Fang shrugged now, watching Max as she went around their bedroom, clearly looking for something. He thought about asking what that something was, but then he remembered that he didn't care. Not really.

Standing slowly, Fang headed out of their bedroom, headed down the hall, then the stairs. When he got to the front door, Fang quickly put on his boots and slung on a jacket that was on the hook. Roy, Dylan, Iggy, the girls, they needed coats and things to keep them warm. Not Fang. He knew he'd never feel warm again.

Once he was outside, Fang headed towards the back of the house instead of to the gates. He didn't need to go outside them, not yet. He would later, when he did a grounds check, but right now he needed to take care of something else.

The people that had owned the house previously, all those years ago, must have been mighty rich. Enough so that they even had what Fang thought was a servant's quarters or guest house in the back. It was nice, though not as nice as the main house. It was two stories, with a bedroom on each floor.

That was Max's main selling point for sticking both her parents out there.

This was pushed by everyone else, as at the time, when they were all still young, they didn't want Dr. Martinez and Jeb in the house, supervising. Ew. They wanted to be adults, be alone, live as the Flock. Now though, Fang wasn't so sure that the two rooms were both getting good use, but whenever he brought this up to Max, she yelled at him and said there was no way her parents were hooking up. At all. That was a disgusting thought. Although he was inclined to agree with her on the latter, the jury was still out on the former.

"Oh. Fang. What is it you need, boy?"

He just walked passed Jeb as the man opened the door, heading into the house without concern. It was his, after all, by right. This house belonged to the Flock, Max was the leader of that Flock, and Fang was married to her. Ergo, this whole property belonged to Fang. Duh.

"Fang's here?" he heard Valencia call from somewhere. "Do you need something?"

Still, he said nothing, continuing through the first floor until he got the staircase. From there he headed up to the second floor, where the study was located. It had never really interested Fang before, though that was pretty self explanatory.

Reading? Fang didn't read at a very advanced level, if any level at all. He wrote his own blog, of course, back in the day, but that was different. That was writing what he thought. Reading though? Actually sitting there and reading? The letters would get all jumbled and mixed up. And it wasn't like he ever had anyone breathing down his neck to educate himself. Why would anyone? He was just Max's shadow, not even made to give her children and happiness like Dylan was, just there as a puppet to test out medicines and experiments on to see if they would be okay for her.

Here though, when it was winter and they were all bundled up on their property for months on end, Fang had to have something to do. Iggy and the Gasman built things. Jeb and Dr. Martinez read up on all the medical books they had brought with them, going over ideas with each other. The girls had each other, which meant only that when you leave four women together, alone, for months on end, they breed drama. That's always fun for them. Dylan and Roy both liked wood. They liked carving things from wood. Not to mention the two of them did most of the ground maintenance. They liked each other for some reason, got along well.

So where did that leave Fang?

Alone. What else was new? On his time alone, Fang began writing again, his own stories. His own tales, so unlike his blog. They were literal stories of his own creation. Not that anyone ever read them. None of the other adults at least. He had caught Max, his little vixen, try to read them before, thinking she was that master of sneakiness. He always caught her though and, after the last time in which he yelled at her, she had left him alone.

It was Nudge though, that made the suggestion to Fang that if he liked writing so much, perhaps he should take the reading. He was wary of this at first, as Fang had never really cared for reading. His own stories were fine, they were cool, interesting. They were exactly what he wanted to happen, not what someone else wanted.

Still, the winter that Jamie was born, Fang found that Max wasn't as nice about letting him out of the house or downstairs to write as his desk. She wanted him in the room with her, to tend to the baby when needed. Always the faithful and loyal husband, Fang did as she asked of him. Not without griping, of course, but that was nothing new. He'd complain, whine, and occasionally even berate Max's decisions behind her back, but he always followed them. She was his leader, always had been and always would be.

"Ah, you need more books, boy?"

He didn't respond to Jeb, as he never did, walking around the study as he tried to find a title that jumped out to him. The room had wall to wall bookcases, filled to the brim with very old novels. From mystery to medical, the inventory encompassed a vast number of topics. During the dreary winter months, Fang could find himself transported into some old western or an interesting adventure story. Even sci-fi interested him. And boy, if people thought new age sci-fi was weird, they wouldn't even be prepared for the things he read.

"When you were a kid, you, Max, and Iggy, they tried to teach you to read once. Well, one scientist in particular did. Janice Mullers. Boy do I remember her." Jeb made a noise at the memory that made Fang's stomach lurch. "She was young, in her twenties. Very tight body."

Fang grunted at that, thinking if he responded to that other male, he'd leave him be. Porn was gone in this new world with only old filth magazines they could find to be used as substitutes. Listening to his technical father-in-law, a typically dirty man all around, go on about some woman was not his idea of fun. Or interesting at all.

"Anyways," Jeb said, shaking his head. "She was young and felt very…motherly to the three of you. She didn't last long. Of course, that's because they killed her when she tried to leak information to the government, but that's another story for another time."

Or not.

"That was the end of that though. Max was very good at it, reading, but Iggy went blind not soon after. And you, well, they always thought you were a bit slow."

Figures.

"If they could see you now though. Reading and writing." Jeb laughed slightly. "And what has Max become? Or Angel? Our two prodigies? One a baby maker and one a gossip machine."

There were a lot of times that Fang wanted to hit Jeb. Mostly all the time. Since the beginning of time. Even when they lived in the that house in Colorado, Jeb had been a dick to Fang. Always. Still, he was such an old guy now that Fang couldn't bring himself to do it.

"Have what you need?" Jeb asked as Fang took a few books off the shelves before turning to leave the room. "Can you deliver a message to Max for me? Tell her that I need to see her desperately. It's about…it's best if you just send her to me, yes?"

That got a grunt too as Fang headed back to the first floor. Once there, he went into the kitchen, not shocked to find Dr. Martinez in there, at the kitchen table.

"Hi, Fang," she said, smiling up from her lab notebook at him. "How are you today?"

He just nodded at her before holding up the books he was taking. He liked Valencia, though he was never sure why. She had always been kind to him though, even when he wasn't very kind to her daughter. Not to mention, Jamie had loved her dearly and Fang was sure his next child would too.

"Oh, those look nice."

Nodding once more, Fang turned and walked out of the room before out of the house, shutting the door softly behind him. He was starting across the lawn back to the main house when he was hit with something from behind. Frowning, he looked across the yard to see Gazzy standing there.

"Hey, Fang!" He threw another snowball at him. "Been looking for you. Max is pissed about something. Said you walked away from her or something. You know, pregnancy hormones and all that. Wants to talk to you immediately."

Fang nodded at him, raising a hand to show the younger man he heard him. That didn't mean he was planning on doing as he was told though. Max had been on his case for weeks. Fang wanted to get away from her for awhile.

Opening his wings, he took his books with him as he ran across the yard, quickly taking the air. It was only when he was in the air, so high above everything that he thought about just leaving it all. It'd be so simple. So simple.

* * *

"_I could leave you right now, pregnant, and never look back."_

_Max rubbed the back of his neck gently. "No, you couldn't."_

"_I will. If it's not a boy."_

"_Go to Hell."_

_Smiling, Fang shifted on the bed so that his head was pressed into Max's neck. "You're sure you're pregnant?"_

"_I missed my period two months in a row now and Mom says its why I haven't been feeling well. I've never been pregnant before though, so I really have no reference point."_

"_Guess we'll know soon enough. You know, when you get fatter."_

"_I won't get that much bigger. I definitely won't qualify as fat."_

"_A-ha!"_

"_What? God, you've been so freaking loud recently."_

_Fang bit at her neck this time, smiling as she squirmed. Against her flesh, he whispered, "I think that you're faking this little pregnancy bull."_

"_Is that what you think?"_

"_Yes."_

"_Why would I do that? For the glory? For the admiration? For the chance to be called fat by you?"_

"_No, so you can get fat without having to admit it. Then you'll finally admit later that you were never pregnant."_

"_Is that what I'm going to do?"_

"_Yeah."_

_Max looked down then, at her stomach. "You were serious though? About wanting a son?"_

'_Duh."_

"_Don't duh me."_

"_I can do what I want, Max. Duh."_

_She pinched his nose. "You're annoying."_

"_I've been called worse. By you. A lot."_

"_I don't want a son. I hear they pee in your face when you change them."_

"_Yeah, well, have fun with that."_

"_You're the one that wants a boy."_

"_Yeah, to, like, brag about him and shit. I don't actually want to raise one. Ew."_

"_Ew," Max agreed. "That's why I hope we have a girl."_

"_A girl?"_

"_Yeah. Then we could name her something cute."_

"_Since when are you into cute things?"_

"…_Or we could name her something hardcore. Like Puss or Bleeding Wound. Like what the hell, Fang?"_

"_Calm down, jeez." He stretched out on the bed, yawning. "I wouldn't mind a daughter either. Boy or girl, I don't care."_

"_It's gonna be annoying, waiting nine months to find out."_

"_That's how they did it in the old days."_

_Max just closed her eyes. "I'm tired."_

"_Mmmm."_

"_You're gonna have to do my share of the chores around here, pretty soon."_

"_When you get too fat to do so, you mean?"_

"_Yeah."_

"_You can dream on. You live here, you carry your own weight. Just like that baby. It better learn to chop wood or make dinner."_

"_You helped make this baby, you know."_

"_I'd like a DNA test."_

"_Oh, Fang."_

_He smiled, reaching down to stroke one of her hands. "In all seriousness though, it's going to be another mouth to feed."_

'_Thanks, old man."_

"_It is though, Max."_

"_I'm aware."_

"_And the way things are looking, it might come in December or January. Those are some cold months up here."_

"_That I'm also aware of."_

"_I just…it'll be hard, keeping it well. The baby."_

"_We'll have Mom to help us and Jeb."_

"_That man's not touching my child." Fang moved down the bed to press his face against her clothed stomach. "And he's not touching my wife."_

"_Who's going to deliver the baby, Fang?"_

"_Your mother, Iggy, Nudge, me, someone. Not him. He's not touching anything that's mine."_

"_I'm not yours."_

"_You are too. You're my wife. This is my baby."_

"_Only if it's a boy though, right?"_

_Fang smiled against the top of her head. "Only then."_

"_When we have a girl, I'm telling her all this."_

"_Tell her. I don't care." He kissed her head now. "I'll already be gone."_

"_I will. I'll tell her."_

"_It won't matter. She love me way more than you anyways."_

"_Oh yeah?"_

"_Yeah."_

"_How do you figure?"_

"_Everyone loves me more than you."_

"_Everyone?" She turned to snuggle into his chest. _

"_Everyone."_

* * *

"Where did you go? Huh? Where the heck-"

Fang held up his books, continuing on into their bedroom. "Read."

"Out in the cold?"

Nodding, Fang went to put his books down on their dresser.

"Fang, Gasman said that he told you that I was looking for you. Did he?"

Damn him. Again, Fang could only nod.

"Then why didn't you come?"

Shrugging, Fang began to strip down to his boxers. He needed his daily nap.

"What if I needed you, huh? What if it was something about the baby?"

Had it been something about the baby, she knew as well as he did that he would have come, that Gazzy would have mentioned it. Besides, what could have happened that he could have helped with? If she gave birth early, that would be something Dr. Martinez would need to know, not Fang. Fang couldn't do anything. He didn't want to do anything. This was her baby, not his.

"Oh, so you're just going to ignore me then? Jerk."

Fang settled onto the bed, pulling the covers up around himself. He was cold, but not too cold. Not cold enough to wear anymore clothes.

"Fang, do you love me or not?"

Was that a serious question? He would have rolled his eyes had they been open.

"Is that a no? Because I hardly even want to be around you anymore."

Then why the heck had she sent Gazzy out to look for him? Huh?

"…I think it's time that you stayed in the extra bedroom again."

That got his attention. "What?"

"Yeah," she said, swallowing. "You should stay in there, away from me. It's for the best."

The extra bedroom. The attic. Hardly a room at all. After Jamie first died, Max and Fang couldn't be around each other. At all. It made them sick to even look at one another. She sent him up there, away from her, even forcing him to eat his meals up there. He hardly got to come down. He wasn't going back there. No way was he ever going back up there.

"No."

"Fang-"

"No. This is my room. This is my bed. No." He was pushed up on his elbows now, boring holes into her eyes with his own. "I'm not going anywhere."

"Fine. Then I will."

"You can't walk up and down the attic stairs every day. You're pregnant."

"Like you care."

"I do care! No." He laid back down. "You're just being all dramatic and girly. No."

"Stop telling me no, Fang. I can do whatever I want."

"Fine then, Max. Sleep up the attic. See if I give a damn."

The door slamming behind her not only told him that she had left the room, but also that he was in trouble. Big trouble.

* * *

"Why didn't you wake me up for dinner?"

Nudge kept doing the dishes. "What was that, Fang?"

He looked around the empty kitchen. Where was everyone? "Why didn't you wake me up for dinner? I told you when I came in that I was going to lay down and that you were supposed to-"

"I'm sorry; I don't listen to douche bags that yell at their pregnant wives."

Fang blinked as she turned and left the kitchen. Well then. Someone was a little uptight. And did she even acknowledge the fact that though he might have been being a douche today, he was the one that got them running water? That helped get the whole town running water? (Well, he helped the other men in the town, at least.) No. She didn't.

"Okay then," he mumbled to himself, heading out the backdoor to find someone. The first person he found was Roy, who was chopping wood like usual.

"Hey, what was for dinner, because-"

"Sorry, Fang." Roy looked up at him. "The women said not to talk to you. You're in trouble or something."

"What is this? The third grade?"

Roy shrugged. "I can't have Nudge mad at me. So-"

Fang didn't hear him though as he walked off. Max wanted to play that game? Fine. He was just as good at it, if not better. He'd never talk to any of them again. He didn't need them. He didn't need any of them.

Turning now, Fang headed out the gates, leaving them unlocked behind him. He had already done a basic grounds check before, when he was hiding from Max, but just as well. He could do one again. And if he found something or someone, perhaps he would just let them or it destroy the stupid house with all those stupid people in it.

"Uncle Fang!"

Or not.

Turning, Fang found that Cassie was running towards him. Where did she come from? "Hmmm?"

"Here." She came to at the gates. Even though they were open, she knew her boundaries. Since Jamie went away, they wouldn't let her out of the gate without asking first. She didn't want to get in trouble.

"What?" Fang came back over as she outstretched her hand. "What is it?"

"I saved you cookies. From dinner." She giggled when he took them from her. "I had to hide them. Mommy and Aunt Max called you a lotta bad names and said you weren't very nice. What'd you do?"

"Nothing."

"Oh. I do nothing a lot too and they yell at me." She rocked on the balls of her feet. "You like my new mittens? Angel knitted 'em for me."

"Oh."

"Uh-huh." She held them up for him to see. "Where are you going?"

He cleared his throat. "Just to, you know, check."

"Can I come?"

"No." He turned then, back around. "It's bedtime. Go back into the house. Are you even supposed to be out here?"

"I had to find you." She smiled at him then. "You sure I can't come?"

"I'm sure."

"'kay. Goodnight, Uncle Fang."

"Goodnight."

She watched him from the gate though as he disappeared into the forest. It was only once she was sure that he was gone that she left, headed back into the house for bedtime.

* * *

"What happened to sleeping in the attic? Huh?" Fang grumbled as he came into his bedroom to find his wife in their bed, passed out. She hadn't even waited up to make sure he was okay. The nerve of her.

"Move over," Fang complained a minute later as he tried to get into bed. He honestly had enough room, but he wanted to wake her up, wanted her to know how upset he was. Shoving her, he repeated, "Move."

"What?" Max mumbled in her sleep, shifting on the bed. "Fang?"

"Move over. You're taking up too much room. Pull in your stupid wings."

"What is your problem?"

"Besides not being fed dinner? Nothing."

"God, do you want me to go make you something, you big baby? Huh?"

"Shut up. And scoot over while you're at it."

"Go up to the attic if you don't have enough room."

"No, this is- Are they serious right now?"

Max paused. "What?"

"You can't hear that? Nudge and her stupid husband." Fang collapsed on the bed finally. "I swear, they're going to break that damn headboard."

Max listened for a moment. "I can hardly hear it. You're just in a bad mood."

"No, I'm just tired of being ignored. Do you know that the only food I got was some cookies that the girl saved for me?"

"What girl?"

"Cassie."

"Why didn't you just say her name instead of-"

"Shut up, Max."

"You shut up."

They both settled into the bed, neither speaking. Eventually though, Max spoke up.

"God, Fang, I can't fall back asleep. You know that I have a hard time getting to bed, yet for some reason you-"

"You were on my half of the bed."

"And? When aren't I?"

"It's my bed too," Fang mumbled indignantly. "My room too. Not just yours. It's ours."

"Fang-"

"It's mine, alright? Not just yours."

"Fine. It's yours. Ours. Whatever." She put her back to him. "Just shut up."

"Thank you," he whispered, closing his eyes. "Max."


End file.
